Successful InPrint Industrial Inkjet Conference Closes; Offering Insights on Inkjet Applications for Manufacturers
CHICAGO — May 8, 2018 — After two successful days, the InPrint Industrial Inkjet Conference held May 1-2 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago closed, providing the industrial print community with unique, thought-leading insights on adopting digital technologies to develop new business opportunities.
Registrants from companies like Avery Dennison, Xerox, Apple, Konica Minolta, and Procter & Gamble heard from industry thought leaders on the successes and challenges of adopting digital print. Focusing on packaging, decorative and functional print applications, presenters shared their expertise highlighting trends, case studies, and the latest technical innovations in industrial inkjet.
“The content of the InPrint Conference was focused on where the industrial inkjet market is headed and how manufacturers can implement the technology into their production to drive business growth,” stated Kevin Jackson, InPrint USA Exhibition Manager. “For example, Heidelberg presented a case study about their customer Ritzi Automotive, who are successfully using inkjet applications. Implementation has its challenges, but our goal at InPrint is to help the manufacturing community learn from each other and provide access to the information and technology they need to succeed in their business goals.”
Some of the highlights of the conference included:
- The keynote presentation “Rebirth of Industrial Inkjet” presented by Mark Hanley, President, I.T. Strategies. Hanley shared his projections for realistic market development potential across all market segments – decorative, functional and packaging. Each sector was examined in terms of the opportunities for growth and the introduction of new print technology.
- The General Session, “Merger & Acquisition Activity in the North American Industrial Inkjet Market” presented by Kenneth D. Stack, President, Proximus, LLC M&A, Venture Capital, Advisors; James Hirchak, Director, Business/Corporate Development Dover Engineered Systems, Dover Corporation; and Liz Logue, Sr. Director Corporate Business Development, EFI. Together they shared the latest data and market trends related to M&A activity in the industrial inkjet industry, as well as their experience and learned best practices in M&A strategy, execution and integration for their organizations.
- Ron Gilboa, Group Director, Production Technology Advisory Service, Keypoint Intelligence—InfoTrends presented the closing keynote session “Growing your Inkjet Printing Business.” In his session, Gilboa highlighted what companies need to consider as they embark on adopting digital technologies in their operations, urging attendees to consider not only the technology itself, but rather how integrating new digital technology forces a business to rethink production and business processes to meet evolving client demands.
Presentations are available for download on the InPrint USA Conference website, http://www.inprintshow.com/usa/conference.
The next InPrint USA show, co-located with ICE USA, the International Converting Exhibition, will be held in Louisville, KY April 9-11, 2019.
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: Mack Brooks
Bally Ribbon Mills Receives Space Technology Award: NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate For 3-D Material
Bally, Pa. — May 8 2018 — Bally Ribbon Mills (BRM), — a designer, developer and manufacturer of highly specialized engineered woven fabrics — has announced it received a Space Technology Award from NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) for weaving the 3-D material used to support the Heat-shield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET) team. The team is developing a new thermal protection system (TPS) that leverages the way weaving is used to manufacture aircraft parts made of carbon composite materials. The award was announced at the at the STMD quarterly meeting in Washington, D.C.
“The STMD community sincerely appreciates your hard work, leadership, and dedication to providing NASA and the Nation with revolutionary new technologies and capabilities,” said STMD’s Associated Administrator Stephen G. Jurczyk. “Congratulations on your hard work and dedication to ensuring the success of our Mission Directorate.”
To manufacture TPS materials with the desired properties, fibers of different compositions and variable yarn densities are accurately placed in a 3-D structure. Three-dimensional weaving extends the traditional 2-D weaving by interconnecting woven material in the third direction, enabling the manufacturing of materials that are more robust to the entry environment than traditional 2-D woven materials. The panels are then infused with resins and cured to lock the fibers in place.
Using advanced modeling, design, and manufacturing tools to optimize the weave for overall improved performance, the HEEET project has manufactured a new family of TPS materials and tested them for a wide variety of entry conditions.
BRM and NASA efforts are a great example of NASA partnering with an American small business with a unique specialized technological capability that will further current and future exploration plans.
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: Bally Ribbon Mills (BRM)
NIKE Names Rosemary St. Clair Vice President, General Manager Of Global Women’s; And Cesar Garcia Vice President, General Manager Of Global Running
BEAVERTON, Ore. — May 7, 2018 — NIKE Inc. today announced that Rosemary St. Clair becomes the new vice president, general manager of Global Women’s and Cesar Garcia becomes the new vice president, general manager, Global Running, effective immediately.
St. Clair, a 31-year Nike veteran and experienced enterprise leader has held senior roles in North America, China and Emerging Markets including, most recently, vice president, general manager of Field Sports and Specialty North America and vice president, general manager, China Running.
Garcia has been at Nike for more than 17 years, most recently as vice president, Merchandising, Global Running. His previous experience includes Running GM roles in both Japan and Western Europe.
Both St. Clair and Garcia will report directly to Amy Montagne, vice president, general manager of Global Categories.
“Rosemary and Cesar bring strong leadership, with deep business knowledge and experience in leading large, diverse teams,” said Montagne. “Together, they will bring a passionate and innovative approach to their respective roles and help continue to accelerate our category offense.”
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: NIKE Inc.
Datacolor® Debuts SpectraVision Solution For Digital Color Assessment Of Previously Unmeasurable Materials
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — May 8, 2018 — Datacolor® announced today the launch of SpectraVision, a solution enabling businesses to objectively measure and digitally communicate the color of previously unmeasurable materials, including multi-color prints, trim, yarn, zippers and lace, thereby saving costs and significantly shortening the time from concept to consumer.
“Digital color assessment is the industry standard for textile materials with one, solid color. All other materials, which makes up 50 percent of textiles, require visual evaluation – an inefficient, costly and subjective process,” said Diane Geisler, vice president, marketing, Datacolor. “SpectraVision is poised to revolutionize the textile industry as the first solution to enable consistent, repeatable color measurement of these so-called ‘unmeasurables.’”
Retailers and suppliers using SpectraVision save up to 50 percent of color approval process costs by decreasing strike offs, lowering color standard maintenance costs, and reducing physical sample shipments. Furthermore, the system can eliminate weeks in the development and production process, which is especially important for retail brands who must react quickly to trends to remain competitive in this fast-paced industry.
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: Datacolor
Texprocess Americas 2018 Exhibitor Profile: Gerber
TOLLAND, Conn. — May 8, 2018 — Gerber Technology, in collaboration with Kornit Digital and Henderson Sewing Machine Co., will highlight how digitalization can make purchase-activated manufacturing and mass customization a reality. Attendees can experience a full end-to-end, on-demand “micro-factory” exhibit that demonstrates how—in today’s “see now, buy now” on demand world—manufacturers can digitize their process and increase their overall efficiency, while also reducing their inventory without impacting customer satisfaction or quality.
This digital workflow process will include:
- Gerber Technology’s AccuMark® and
AccuMark 3D for Product Design
- The demonstration will show how design is optimized by leveraging custom graphics and 3D simulation, then converting patterns into a marker file that will be prepared and sent to a digital printer.
- Kornit Digital’s Allegro Printer
- In a single step, the Allegro will digitally print designs directly to textile with its patented Fixation on the Fly (FOF) inline pre-treatment process. This waterless solution leaves a low eco-footprint by eliminating steps such as pre-treatment, washing, and steaming. Kornit will be showing new Neon inks that enable brighter colors and extended gamut, opening new market segments to increase system utilization.
- Gerber’s Z1 single-ply cutter with ContourVision™
- The Z1 performs automated vision-aided cutting. An automated scan-to-cut system processes rolls of custom printed textiles by automatically generating cut files to drive the process. The Z1 is enabled with GERBERconnect™ which allows data to be transferred to the Cloud and service professionals to diagnose your cutter in real time ensuring maximum production efficiency.
- Omron Robot, integrated by Henderson Sewing Machine
- An autonomous mobile robot will collect bundled cut parts and transport them from the design-print-cut area to a robotic sewing station across the aisle at the Henderson Sewing Designed Gantry Robotic Sewing Station, booth #717.
Gerber’s knowledge and the passion of our people create an unparalleled level of support for our customers. “We are enabling the industry to be proactive and move quickly in adopting their digital transformation,” stated Mohit Uberoi, CEO of Gerber Technology. “Our team is ready to help facilitate the process — empowering our customers to turn their data into speed.”
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: Gerber Technology
Wipes Industry Associations Support $700,000 Fine Of Pental
CARY, N.C./BRUSSELS, Belgium — May 8, 2018 — The recent news that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) fined Pental $700,000 for falsely claiming its White King wipes were flushable was welcomed by INDA and EDANA, the leading North American-based and European-based trade associations for the nonwovens industry dedicated to advancing education and technology in the wipes category.
INDA and EDANA have worked with leading industry and wastewater experts to develop a comprehensive battery of tests that ensure a wipe intended to be marketed as “flushable” is compatible with the wastewater system after it is flushed.
“There are rigorous testing procedures for flushability and Pental’s product did not pass those tests and should have been clearly marked with a “Do Not Flush” symbol per our Code of Practice for labeling,” said Dave Rousse, president of INDA. “A thorough review of White King wipes revealed that the product had not undergone flushability claims testing, and recent industry testing has shown that the product does not pass the stringent Edition 3 Flushability Guidelines (GD3) of INDA and EDANA. This type of behavior hurts responsible manufacturers because some consumers and regulators will unfairly attribute those failures to the entire category of flushable wipes.”
“Wipes that don’t pass GD3 testing should have a prominent ‘Do Not Flush’ symbol and should not be flushed,” said Pierre Wiertz, general manager of EDANA. “We want consumers to be properly informed and confident that products with a flushable claim have passed this rigorous testing. That is why the flushable claim should only be used on products that pass the GD3 guidelines. Companies that do not back their “flushable” claim with product testing following the guidelines should be held accountable.”
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry & EDANA
Sales Success For Benninger: 1,000 Automation Solution Of Benninger Automation Has Been Installed At Getzner Textil AG
UZWIL, Switzerland — May 3, 2018 — The traditional textile company Getzner Textil AG in Bludenz, Austria is known worldwide for its high-quality fabrics for a wide variety of applications. In the sustainable production of textiles, Getzner has for many years relied on the innovative process and system solutions of the Benninger Group with its headquarter in Uzwil, Switzerland.
As part of the current project of the two longstanding partner companies, the Benninger-Pad-Dry Hotflue was equipped with the 1,000 automation solution from Benninger Automation GmbH, Zell, Germany.
This milestone was taken by Beat Meienberger, CEO of Benninger AG, as an opportunity to thank Getzner for the long-standing, good business relationship and to hand over a voucher for spare parts worth EUR 10’000 to the management of Getzner Textil AG.
Benninger is looking forward to many more years of good partnership and interesting, new projects with Getzner Textil AG.
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: Benninger AG
Kornit Digital Expands New HD Printing Technology To Its Storm Series
ROSH HA’AYIN, Israel — May 8, 2018 — Kornit Digital has announced the introduction of the new Storm HD6 direct-to-garment printing system. The system will be unveiled at the Kornit stand A20 in 1.1 at FESPA Berlin with commercial availability expected for Q4 2018.
Following the highly successful launch of the Avalanche HD6, Kornit will implement the HD technology in the Storm platform as well, announcing the Storm HD6. Kornit’s HD print engine, combined with the NeoPigmentTM Rapid ink, leads to significant reductions in ink consumption and cost per print. The Storm HD6 will reduce both by approximately 30% compared to the Storm Hexa.
The new cost per print levels make the new HD systems an attractive choice for screen printers and digital printers for print runs between one and 500 copies. The new systems, now comprising the Avalanche HD6, Avalanche HDK and Storm HD6, are running with 4l bulk ink containers of Kornit’s NeoPigmentTM Rapid ink. This ink, which has been specifically developed for Kornit’s HD technology, offers an improved gamut for spot and brand color matching, increased opacity and saturation of the white ink, as well as improved hand feel — an important requirement by screen printers. The print quality and customer experience is further enhanced by ColorGATE’s Professional RIP solution, adding advanced color management and screening capabilities, improved white base creation and pre-defined color libraries for ultimate color matching.
Both the HD print engine and the NeoPigment Rapid ink are used in Kornit’s Vulcan system and have been field proven in a number of installations over the past few years.
Omer Kulka, Kornit Digital’s Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy, comments: “The retail meltdown in textile and fashion continues. Based on the early success of the Avalanche HD series, we are now expanding the cost-saving HD technology to the mid-range Storm platform, providing access to state-of-the art direct-to-garment technology also to businesses with smaller throughput requirements.”
Eyal Manzoor, Managing Director of Kornit Digital Europe, adds: “The Storm platform is the solution of choice for businesses that need a powerful yet flexible and scalable solution. The Storm’s business potential generated some impressive success stories and the print size makes a great fit for most screen printers. We look forward to presenting this technology highlight as a key element in our total FESPA offering.”
Kornit’s Storm platform represents the mid-productivity segment of Kornit’s industrial direct-to-garment printing product portfolio, which provides a rich choice of different systems for different application requirements. The Storm HD6 includes six color channels (CMYK, Red, Green) plus white, for a wider gamut and improved spot color matching. Users can easily reproduce the true colors of licensed sports teams and accurately match corporate logos.
The Storm HD6 is planned to be commercially available during the fourth quarter of 2018. It can be seen in live demonstrations at the Kornit Digital stand A20 in 1.1 at FESPA Berlin, taking place May 15-18.
Kornit’s state of the art NeoPigment™ meets the highest environmental regulations, including Oeko-Tex Standard 100 and GOTS V5 pre-approval. Suitable for printing on multiple fabric types, its versatility is unmatched. NeoPigment™ prints have an excellent hand feel, a wide gamut of bright and intense colors, as well as long-term durability and wash-fastness.
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: Kornit Digital
Stäubli Offers Innovative Weaving Technology For Advanced Technical Fabrics
PFÄFFIKON — April 24, 2018 — Stäubli has been one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-speed textile machinery for more than 125 years. After decades of experience as a supplier of shedding solutions for weaving machines, weaving preparation systems, and complete carpet weaving systems in the traditional textile industry, Stäubli continued its efforts in research and development to extend its product range. For several years Stäubli has offered textile machinery dedicated to the production of technical textiles, such as:
- Magma T12 warp tying machine for an optimized workflow in the mill
- The MAGMA T12 ties monofilaments, coarse multi-filaments, PP ribbons, bast fibers, coarse staple fibers, and many other fiber types. It has been developed for universal application ranging from coarse technical yarns to the medium yarn-count range. Its rigid design includes an optical double-end detection system
- TF weaving system for sophisticated reinforcing fabrics
- R&D project managers in the automotive, medical, aeronautic or any other industry sector, searching for light weight component solutions will be amazed. the Stäubli TF system offers virtually unlimited weaving possibilities, whether for flat, spacer, or complex multi-layer fabrics and 3D fabrics. Specific requirements in terms of stiffness, impregnation capacity, drapability, or fail-safe-behavior, etc, can be fulfilled. Featuring the latest shedding machines in combination with the double-rapier weft insertion system and a special slaying motion the TF weaving system allows high-volume production of up to very thick and/or dense fabrics and efficient processing of a wide variety of technical and highly sensitive yarns, such as glass fiber, carbon, Kevlar, or similar.
Stäubli machinery provides high stroke forces and precision for airbag weaving
For the automotive industry, Stäubli is today’s leading supplier in shedding solutions for airbag weaving, traditional airbags woven on frame weaving machines, and OPW (one-piece-woven) airbags produced on modern Jacquard weaving machines. Airbag fabrics demand important stroke forces during weaving. The solid construction of the latest generation S3000/S3200 electronic rotary dobbies provides the basis in frame weaving for supporting these forces while running reliably at high speeds day in and day out, offering important longevity.
Frame weaving prerequisites such as perfectly prepared warps gain in importance when it comes to deliver the automotive industry with its zero-error specifications. The weaver has to produce more 1st class fabric, while staying competitive. Using the SAFIR automatic drawing-in installations, equipped with active warp control features such as optical recognition of double ends and color/yarn type repeat management, allows the weavers to meet these strict requirements. These very efficient machines allow the distribution of each warp end according to the repeat in the drop wires, healds and reed in one cycle. Many weavers worldwide already rely on SAFIR drawing-in machines for continued quality weaving process. The machines handle as well on glass applications and are showing their efficiency in filament mills.
For the production of afore mentioned OPW airbags Stäubli provides the LX Jacquard machine Series. This world renowned machines feature perfectly balanced cinematics, a coaxial drive shaft, and an optimized internal airflow as well as optimum sized chassis. These features ensure clean interiors, controlled temperature in the machinery housing, the support of beams and bearings and make the Series handle great payloads and precise operating at highest production speeds. For a perfect link between machine and harness the MX module, centerpiece of the Jacquard machine plays its major role. MX modules are built of latest optimum combined composite materials for long-lasting efficiency during thousands of up-and down movements while ensuring the reliable yarn selection. All these factors are very decisive in terms of economic production. Weaver and airbag supplier have to be certain about the high quality of the product they deliver, as the automotive industry enforces complicated, cost intensive and strict verification and validation processes for its components, and especially for components that protect human lives, such as airbags.
The latest models in the LX Series, the LXL and LXXL are specifically developed for large-sized designs and can be equipped in a format range of 6,144 to 25,600 hooks. By combining two LXXL machines, formats up to 51,200 can be achieved.
Whatever the weaving width or format size in airbag production, Stäubli weaving preparation and shedding solutions bring the advantages of an experienced solution provider to the weaver and airbag producer.
Binding technology for high-end synthetic grass
With its ALPHA 500 Series carpet weaving systems, Stäubli provides a product range for any kind of rug or wall-to-wall carpet. Weavers can count on the ALPHA 500 LEANTEC model for weaving superior high-quality synthetic grass, with a weaving width of up to 5.3 meters. The Stäubli binding technology allows the optimum orientation of the piles for a wide public, ranging from major league sports facilities suppliers, to public services and garden centers.
Industrials that rely on Stäubli technical textile solutions can create future applications with passion, and can rely on efficient machinery and solutions to take the lead in the technical textile business.
Posted May 8, 2018
Source: Stäubli AG
